Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of vibration dampening devices for the handles of sports equipment in general, and in particular to a spring-biased shock dampening device for use on golf clubs.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,236,198; 5,294,119; 5,674,135; 5,735,752 and 5,954,591, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse vibration dampening devices and for sports equipment, including golf clubs and the like.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical dampening device that is specifically designed to be quickly and easily installed and removed from the shaft of a golf club without the need to physically alter the golf club construction or remove the hand grip portion of the club.
As most weekend or average golfers are well aware, they are simply not proficient enough to make pure contact with the xe2x80x9csweet spotxe2x80x9d on the face of their golf clubs on a consistent basis; and this failure to execute a perfect swing results in a significant amount of vibration and impact shock being transmitted back along the shaft of their golf clubs, resulting in fatigue as well as problems with tendinitis, arthritis, etc.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved vibration dampening device that can quickly and easily be installed on the shaft of a golf club without any special tools or equipment to reduce the physical ramifications of mis-hit shots, and the provision of such a device is the stated objective of the present invention.
Briefly stated, the present invention provides a vibration dampening device that forms the basis of the present invention comprising in general a dampening unit, a spring biased clip unit that captively engages the dampening unit relative to the shaft of a convention golf club and a captive unit that prevents the clip unit from becoming accidently disengaged from the dampening unit.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the dampening device is intended to provide a non-selective frequency attenuating attachment for the shaft of a golf club covering a range of frequencies 0-2 kHz and having a dampening efficiency of approximately 60% to 70%.
For example, the dampening unit includes a strip of elastomeric material dimensioned to substantially encircle the periphery of the shaft of a golf club and fabricated from a viscoelastic polymer designed to reduce the transmission of vibrations.
In addition, the strip of elastomeric material is designed to be adhesively secured to the shaft of a golf club and then further pre-compressed by a clip unit including a split ring clip member dimensioned to partially encircle the dampening unit and the golf club shaft, wherein the clip member has a vertical slot whose opening can be contracted by a capture unit including a strip of adhesive tape that is wrapped completely around the clip member at least once to further compress the dampening unit and insure that the dampening unit remains in place on the golf club shaft.